The time has come, and a caregiver needs to go in and help with your aging loved one. It is an awkward time since you are asking a stranger to come in and care for someone important to you in their home. There are personalities and trust issues to deal with. Everyone wants the best, but figuring it out is overwhelming. This area is uncommon for most people, so they need to know which questions to ask caregivers or what to look for. Critical caregiving attributes are positive, engaging, motivated, honest, reliable, flexible, patient, and kind. The first question is, which type of caregiver do you want?

Self-employed caregiver versus agency caregiver?

Self-employed caregivers can be beneficial since you deal directly with a caregiver. You don’t have to deal with a 3rd party or multiple caregivers; you know all the money goes to them. The downside of dealing with a self-employed caregiver is possible liability exposure since they could sue if a caregiver gets injured during their duties as a keeper. Another downside is no backup available if that caregiver is unavailable.

An agency caregiver works for a company. The company pays the caregiver and provides the necessary insurance reducing the liability exposure to the client. Plus, if the caregiver is unavailable, they can pull from their resources to find a backup caregiver. The downside is that people may have multiple caregivers and have to deal with a third party. Plus, the agency keeps a portion of the payment to cover administrative expenses, taxes, and insurance.

What questions for caregivers?

• What is your availability?  
  • How many days per week?  
  • How many hours per day?  
  • Is there a minimum set of hours?
• What is your rate?
• What happens if a person needs 24-hour care?
• What types of clients do you specialize in?
  • Do you have experience dealing with dementia or Alzheimers, or any conditions your loved one has?
  • Do you have experience with individuals who use wheelchairs?
  • What is your experience with medical equipment (i.e. can they take a patient’s blood pressure?)
• What services do you provide?
  • Housekeeping: Will they do the dishes? What do they define as light housekeeping?
  • Meal preparation: Can they cook? What can they make?
  • Shopping: Do they grocery shop? Can they pick things up from a store or pharmacy? Does the patient have to accompany for shopping or will they go alone? What is their policy for paying if the caregiver goes shopping alone?
  • Driving: Can they take a person to their appointments? Who’s car will they use? If they use their vehicle, will they get reimbursed for the mileage, and at what rate?
• Do you keep a journal of your time with the person to help document how the person is doing and what they did?  
• What is your communication policy?  
  • How would you notify someone of any concerns observed?
  • How and when would you communicate with a patient’s family?
  • How and when would you communicate with a medical professional?

Which questions for Self-employed caregivers

• Why did you become a caregiver?
• What is your experience?
• Do you have experience transferring someone out of bed or chair?
• Who is your favorite type of client to care for?
• What do you see as being a difficult client, and how do you respond to them?
• How do you deal with a stressful situation?
• If a patient has an emergency, but you have another appointment, how would you handle it?
• If you have a pet, how do you feel about animals?
• Are you quiet or talkative?
• What are your hobbies?
• Can you give me three references?

Questions for caregiving agency

• What is the company policy if a caregiver’s shift is about to come up, but their replacement has yet to arrive?
• What is your company policy if a caregiver shows up but the patient does not answer the door?

Depending on your specific situation, there may be more questions, but this is a starting point. Remember, it may take a few caregivers before your aging loved one finds the right one for them.

Don’t be overwhelmed with the process; let STAGES be your resource.